About 35 percent of students said they gave a “better-than-deserved” evaluation, while nearly 49 percent admitted to lying to make their instructor look worse, according to a 2010 University of Northern Iowa study.

But Michael Cogan, director of institutional research and analysis at the University of St. Thomas, told the news service:

“I don’t think our students are like that. For the most part, I think our students are pretty honest about what’s going on and forthright about what’s happening.”

About the blogger

Alex Friedrich reports on higher education issues for MPR News. Among the stories he has covered: the fall of the Berlin Wall, aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, 2003 Moscow suicide bombing and 2004 presidential elections in the Republic of Georgia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and a master’s in European political economy from the London School of Economics.